TIFF's Top Canadian Films
In 2015 TIFF organized its decennial poll of Critics, Programmers, Academics and Film Professionals asking 220 of them to name the top Canadian Films of all time. 399 films received votes, this list comprises the 134 films which received at least 3 votes.
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- DirectorZacharias KunukStarsNatar UngalaaqSylvia IvaluPeter-Henry ArnatsiaqThe telling of an Inuit legend of an evil spirit causing strife in the community and one warrior's endurance and battle of its menace.
- DirectorClaude JutraStarsJacques GagnonLyne ChampagneJean DuceppeSet in cold rural Quebec at Christmas time, we follow the coming of age of a young boy and the life of his family which owns the town's general store and undertaking business.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsIan HolmSarah PolleyCaerthan BanksA bus crash in a small town brings a lawyer to defend the families, but he discovers everything isn't what it seems.
- DirectorDenys ArcandStarsLothaire BluteauCatherine WilkeningJohanne-Marie TremblayA group of actors put on an unorthodox, but acclaimed Passion Play which incites the opposition of the Catholic Church while the actors' lives themselves begin to mirror the Passion itself.
- DirectorDonald ShebibStarsDoug McGrathPaul BradleyJayne EastwoodTwo friends leave the picturesque yet rural province of Nova Scotia for the nightlife and culture of Toronto. They soon end up wistful and nostalgic about Nova Scotia though after finding out that Toronto isn't as fun as they'd hoped.
- DirectorJean-Claude LauzonStarsMaxime CollinGinette RenoGilbert SicotteThe story of a young Canadian boy who tries to escape mentally from his disturbed family thanks to his fantasy and imagination.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsDarcy FehrAnn SavageLouis NeginFact, fantasy and memory are woven seamlessly together in this portrait of film-maker Guy Maddin's home town of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeremy IronsGeneviève BujoldHeidi von PalleskeTwin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.
- DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsMichel CôtéMarc-André GrondinDanielle ProulxA young French Canadian, one of five boys in a conservative family in the 1960s and 1970s, struggles to reconcile his emerging identity with his father's values.
- DirectorMichel BraultStarsHélène LoiselleJean LapointeGuy ProvostA fact-based account of ordinary citizens who found themselves arrested and imprisoned without charge for weeks during the October Crisis in 1970 Quebec.
- DirectorSarah PolleyStarsMichael PolleyJohn BuchanMark PolleyA film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsLubna AzabalMélissa Désormeaux-PoulinMaxim GaudetteTwins journey to the Middle East to discover their family history and fulfill their mother's last wishes.
- DirectorDenys ArcandStarsDominique MichelDorothée BerrymanLouise PortalSexual revelations emerge when a group of academics and their partners spend a weekend at a country retreat.
- DirectorMichael SnowStarsHollis FramptonLyne GrossmanNaoto NakazawaClaimed by some to be one of the most unconventional and experimental films ever made, Wavelength is a structural film of a 45-minute long zoom in on a window over a period of a week. Very unconventional and experimental, indeed.
- DirectorDenys ArcandStarsRémy GirardDorothée BerrymanStéphane RousseauDuring his final days, a dying man is reunited with old friends, former lovers, his ex-wife, and his estranged son.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJames WoodsDebbie HarrySonja SmitsA programmer at a Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast.
- DirectorSarah PolleyStarsJulie ChristieMichael MurphyGordon PinsentA man coping with the institutionalization of his wife because of Alzheimer's disease faces an epiphany when she transfers her affections to another man, Aubrey, a wheelchair-bound mute who also is a patient at the nursing home.
- DirectorFrançois GirardStarsColm FeoreDerek KeurvorstKatya LadanA collection of vignettes highlighting different aspects of the life, work, and character of the acclaimed Canadian classical pianist.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsAnne DorvalAntoine Olivier PilonSuzanne ClémentA widowed single mother, raising her violent son alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor inserts herself into their household.
- DirectorPhillip BorsosStarsRichard FarnsworthJackie BurroughsKen PogueWhen an aging, but gentlemanly stagecoach robber is released from prison, he decides to go to Canada to become a train robber.
- DirectorBruce McDonaldStarsHugh DillonCallum Keith RennieJohn Pyper-FergusonA group of washed-up Canadian punk rockers get back together for a road trip in memory of a dear friend who was supposedly shot, or so rumors imply. As they travel, they ignore the underlying psychological darkness within each other.
- DirectorDon McKellarStarsDon McKellarSandra OhRoberta MaxwellA group of very different individuals with different ideas of how to face the end come together as the world is expected to end in six hours at the turn of the century.
- DirectorPatricia RozemaStarsSheila McCarthyPaule BaillargeonAnn-Marie MacDonaldScatterbrained Polly gets a job as a secretary in Gabrielle's art gallery. Polly aspires to be a professional photographer, and idolizes Gabrielle for her artistic ability. When Gabrielle rekindles an old romantic relationship with the younger painter Mary, Polly becomes jealous, and discovers Gabrielle is not who she claims to be.
- DirectorMichel BraultPierre PerraultStarsLéopold TremblayAlexis TremblayAbel HarveyAt the instigation of the filmmakers, the young men of the Ile-aux-Coudres in the middle of the St-Lawrence River try as a memorial to their ancestors to revive the fishing of the belugas interrupted in 1924.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsRichard DreyfussMicheline LanctôtJack WardenIn a bid to gain respect, the neglected younger son of a working class Jewish family in Montréal embarks on a series of get-rich-quick schemes to buy land surrounding a lake.
- DirectorPhilippe FalardeauStarsMohamed FellagSophie NélisseÉmilien NéronAt a Montréal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom. While helping his students deal with their grief, his own recent loss is revealed.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJames SpaderHolly HunterElias KoteasAfter getting into a serious car accident, a TV director discovers an underground sub-culture of scarred, omnisexual car-crash victims who use car accidents and the raw sexual energy they produce to try to rejuvenate his sex life with his wife.
- DirectorFrancis MankiewiczStarsCharlotte LaurierMarie TifoGermain HoudeA woman is overwhelmed with having to deal with her emotionally unstable daughter, mentally-challenged brother and two suitors while simultaneously trying to run her small firewood business.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsArsinée KhanjianAshot AdamyanAtom EgoyanA woman stays in Armenia after her photographer husband completes his assignment and returns home to Canada.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsBruce GreenwoodElias KoteasDon McKellarA man plagued by neuroses frequents the club Exotica in an attempt to find solace, but even there his past is never far away.
- DirectorAllan KingStarsBilly EdwardsAntoinette EdwardsBogart EdwardsAn "actuality drama" about a real-life marriage in crisis, in which the couple attempts to identify and resolve the conflicts and resentments that have driven them to the brink of separation.
- DirectorJennifer BaichwalStarsEdward BurtynskyPhotographer Edward Burtynsky travels the world observing changes in landscapes due to industrial work and manufacturing.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsLeslie BaisCaelum VatnsdalShaun BalbarA scientist chooses a wealthy man over her two lovers but must heal the earth's core to save humanity.
- DirectorDeepa MehtaStarsLisa RayJohn AbrahamSeema BiswasSet in colonial India against Gandhi's rise to power, it's the story of 8-year-old Chuyia, who is widowed and sent to a home to live in penitence; once there, Chuyia's feisty presence deeply affects the lives of the other residents.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsIsabella RosselliniMark McKinneyMaria de MedeirosA musical of sorts set in Winnipeg during the Great Depression, where a beer baroness organizes a contest to find the saddest music in the world. Musicians from around the world descend on the city to try and win the $25,000 prize.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsMaxim GaudetteSébastien HuberdeauKarine VanasseA dramatization of the 1989 Montréal Massacre, during which several female engineering students were murdered by an unstable misogynist.
- DirectorJack ChambersA surreal sequence of images of nature and London, Ontario, life and death.
- DirectorAllan KingStarsMartin FischerChronicles 7-weeks in the lives of 12 emotionally disturbed children and their therapist's experimental method of treatment at the Toronto-area Warrendale facility.
- DirectorJohn PaizsStarsEva KovacsJohn PaizsDarrell BaranA young director intent on making "the greatest color crime movie ever" can't seem to finish his script--he has a beginning and an end, but he can't quite figure out the middle. The daughter of his landlord, excited to have a real "movie person" living nearby, tries to help by putting him in touch with a man who wants to collaborate on a script--the strange "Dr. Jolly".
- DirectorNorman McLarenStarsGrant MunroJean Paul LadouceurA surreal story of two neighbours' destructive feud over a flower.
- DirectorAlanis ObomsawinStarsJack BurningHerbie BarnesAlanis ObomsawinA film account about the military 1990 siege of a Native American reserve near Oka, Quebec, Canada and its causes.
- DirectorEvelyn LambartNorman McLarenAbstract images drawn directly onto the film are accompanied by three pieces of jazz performed by the Oscar Peterson trio.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsNaomi WattsViggo MortensenArmin Mueller-StahlA teenager who dies during childbirth leaves clues in her journal that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.
- DirectorMichael DowseStarsPaul SpenceDavid LawrenceGordon SkillingHeadbangers Terry and Dean explore the depths of friendship, and the art and science of drinking beer like a man.
- DirectorMichael SnowOne of most influential films in avant-garde cinema, this experimental film by Michael Snow was shot over a period of 24 hours using a robotic arm, and consists entirely of preprogrammed movements. Snow programmed all the robotic movements so that they never moved the same way twice, so there are differences in every motion of the camera.
- DirectorJoyce WielandStarsJoyce WielandPierre TrudeauReason over Passion is one of Joyce Wieland's most renowned experimental films - a cross-country travelogue, political satire, modernist experiment - which embodies many of the themes recurrent in her rich, diverse and extensive oeuvre.
- DirectorLéa PoolStarsKarine VanassePascale BussièresPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicIn the year 1963, an awkward thirteen-year-old girl comes of age during her escapism into the world of cinema, with potentially dangerous results.
- DirectorMichael DowseStarsPaul KayeBeatriz BatardaKate MagowanA famous DJ in the Ibiza club scene finds the alcohol and drug-fueled party that is his life threatened by the progressive loss of his hearing.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsAnne DorvalXavier DolanFrançois ArnaudA semi-autobiographical story about Hubert as a young homosexual at odds with his mother.
- DirectorRobert LepageStarsLothaire BluteauPatrick GoyetteJean-Louis MilletteThe year is 1952, in Québec City, Québec. Rachel (Suzanne Clément), sixteen, unmarried, and pregnant, works in the church. Filled with shame, she unburdens her guilt to a young Priest under the confidentiality of the confessional. In the present year of 1994, Pierre Lamontagne (Lothaire Bluteau) has returned to Québec to attend his father's funeral. He meets up with his adopted brother, Marc (Patrick Goyette), who has begun questioning his identity and has embarked on a quest for his roots that would lead them to the Québec of the 1950s. Past and present converge in a complex web of intrinque where the answer to the mystery lies.
- DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsVanessa ParadisKevin ParentHélène FlorentA love story between a man and woman. And between a mother and her son. A mystical and fantastical odyssey on love.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsMarie-Josée CrozeJean-Nicolas VerreaultStephanie MorgensternAfter plunging her car into a river, a woman encounters a man who helps her come to terms with her life.
- DirectorKim NguyenStarsRachel MwanzaAlain Lino Mic Eli BastienSerge KanyindaSomewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, Komona, a 14-year-old girl, tells her unborn child growing inside her the story of her life since she has been at war. Everything started when she was abducted by the rebel army at the age of 12.
- DirectorChris LandrethStarsRyan LarkinChris LandrethFelicity FanjoyThe movie talks about the life of Ryan Larkin, a gifted Canadian animator of the late '60s and the early '70s.
- DirectorClaude JutraStarsClaude JutraJohanne HarelleVictor DésyA man struggles with his identity, his life choices, his interracial relationship, and his latent homosexuality. A portrait of some young intellectuals in early sixties Montreal.
- DirectorBruce McDonaldStarsDon McKellarValerie BuhagiarEarl PastkoA small-town barber goes on a road trip from Thunder Bay to New Orleans with an unpredictable woman and a coffin.
- DirectorLynne StopkewichStarsMolly ParkerPeter OuterbridgeJay BrazeauOver the years, a child's romantic ideals about death blossom into necrophilia, the study of embalming and the most profound relationship of her life.
- DirectorGilles GroulxStarsBarbara UlrichClaude GodboutManon BlainA young journalist is unhappy with society and contemplates what he can do about it.
- DirectorJohn GreysonStarsIan D. ClarkMarcel SabourinAubert PallascioWhen a bishop comes to a prison to hear the confession of an old friend he is forced to watch a play, performed by the inmates, about their youth together, love and betrayal.
- DirectorWolf KoenigRoman KroitorStarsPaul AnkaJules PodellA documentary chronicling the career of teen singing star Paul Anka (the title is taken from one of his hit songs).
- DirectorAnne Claire PoirierStarsJulie VincentGermain HoudePaul SavoieA director and an editor, both woman, cannot work on a movie presenting the rape of a nurse without reacting on the scenes they're working on, the situation of womenhood in general, and the way the 'Justice' handle those cases of rape.
- DirectorDon OwenStarsPeter KastnerJulie BiggsClaude RaeA teenage boy rebels against parental authority and must face a harsh reality when he tries to live on his own.
- DirectorArthur LipsettThrough an unconventional use of concise narrative, a conceptual collage of sounds and images, and a rapid-fire montage, Arthur Lipsett's first film vividly portrays the urban estrangement in the times of social erosion and materialism.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsKyle McCullochGosia DobrowolskaSarah NevilleThe wary residents of a 19th century mountain village must tread carefully and speak softly lest they cause an avalanche. Sexual frenzies teem in this world of repression, setting off incestuous love triangles with deadly consequences.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsJake GyllenhaalMélanie LaurentSarah GadonA man seeks out his exact look-alike after spotting him in a movie.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsDavid HemblenAidan TierneyGabrielle RoseVan's father, Stan, is fond of video, always taping scenes of daily family life. But he does not take care of Van's grandmother, Armen. Although he could afford having her at home, she is spending her days watching TV in an old people's home. Van often visits her. He meets Aline, whose mother is in the next bed. Van wants to get his grandma out of the old people's home. Aline will help. Actually, Van, whose mother left, years ago, is looking for a real family life.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsMelvil PoupaudEmmanuel SchwartzSuzanne ClémentA drama that charts ten years in a transgender woman's relationship with her lover.
- DirectorDenys ArcandStarsJean LajeunesseLuce GuilbeaultJ. Léo GagnonThe unexpected return of his ex-wife and the assembly of a group of protesters both threaten to wreck a corrupt contractor's inauguration party for his new superhighway.
- DirectorFrançois GirardStarsCarlo CecchiJean-Luc BideauChristoph KonczA red-colored violin inspires passion, making its way through three centuries over several owners and countries, eventually ending up at an auction where it may find a new owner.
- DirectorDonald BrittainJohn KramerStarsMarjorie BonnerDonald BrittainJohn BuchanA documentary on the life of the alcoholic writer Malcolm Lowry, interspersed with readings of Lowry's work by Richard Burton. Lowry was born and educated in England. He moved to Mexico in 1936, where he lived near the volcano Popocatepetl, on an allowance from his father. There, between drunken bouts, he started writing his one important novel, "Under the Volcano" that takes place on the Mexican day of the dead. He takes eight years to finish it, writing most of it while living in a shack in British Colombia, Canada.
- DirectorArthur LipsettSnippets from discarded footage, and with footage shot on the streets of Montreal and New York City, combined to a collage with the underlying argument as to whether man is a complex machine or a creature with a soul.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsMichael GottliDavid FalkenbergMichael O'SullivanAn amnesiac soldier, seeking his lost love, arrives in Archangel in northern Russia to help the townsfolk in their fight against the Bolsheviks, all quite unaware that the Great War ended three months ago.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsOlivia HusseyKeir DulleaMargot KidderDuring their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.
- DirectorPeter MettlerStarsJustine BellinskyGovindaPeter MettlerA filmmaker's inquiry into transcendence becomes a three-hour trip across countries and cultures, interconnecting people, places and times. From Toronto, the scene of his childhood, Peter Mettler sets out on a journey that includes evangelism at the airport strip, demolition in Las Vegas, tracings in the Nevada desert, chemistry and street life in Switzerland, and the coexistence of technology and divinity in contemporary India. Everywhere along the way, the same themes are to be found: thrill-seeking, luck, destiny, belief, expanding perception, the craving for security in an uncertain world. Fact joins with fantasy; the search for meaning and the search for ecstasy begin to merge.
- DirectorMichael DowseStarsSeann William ScottJay BaruchelAlison PillLabeled an outcast by his brainy family, a bouncer overcomes long odds to lead a team of under performing misfits to semi-pro hockey glory, beating the crap out of everything that stands in his way.
- DirectorWilliam D. MacGillivrayStarsTrudi PetersenJane PurvesJacinta CormierThe odyssey of a young Cape Breton woman as she moves to the big city (Halifax) and supports herself after the birth of her illegitimate child by posing for college art classes, on her way to becoming an artist in her own right.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayHarvey AtkinKate LynchWacky hijinks of counselors and campers at a less-than-average summer camp.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsPeter WellerJudy DavisIan HolmAfter developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally kills his wife and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in a port town in North Africa.
- DirectorMicheline LanctôtStarsPascale BussièresMarcia PilotePierre F. FauteuxTwo teenaged friends have separate difficult experiences that make the girls seriously consider suicide.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsRalph FiennesMiranda RichardsonGabriel ByrneA mentally disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood.
- DirectorRick MoranisDave ThomasStarsRick MoranisDave ThomasMax von SydowCanada's most famous hosers, Bob and Doug McKenzie, get jobs at the Elsinore Brewery, only to learn that something is rotten with the state of it.
- DirectorMark AchbarJennifer AbbottStarsMikela JayRob BeckwermertChristopher GoraDocumentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance.
- DirectorNorman CohnZacharias KunukStarsPakak InnuksukLeah AngutimarikNeeve IrngautA portrayal of the lives of the last great Inuit shaman, Avva, and his beautiful and headstrong daughter, Apak. Based on the journals of 1920s Danish ethnographer Knud Rasmussen.
- DirectorDaryl DukeCurtis HansonStarsElliott GouldChristopher PlummerSusannah YorkA timid bank teller anticipates a bank robbery and steals the money himself before the crook arrives. When the sadistic crook realizes he's been fooled, he tracks down the teller and engages him in a cat-and-mouse chase for the cash.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsLothaire BluteauAden YoungSandrine HoltIn the 17th century, a Jesuit missionary nicknamed Black Robe by the natives and his small party of companions try reaching the Huron tribe in Canada all while facing mistrust, Iroquois warring parties and harsh winter conditions.
- DirectorJason EisenerStarsRutger HauerPasha EbrahimiRobb WellsA homeless vigilante blows away crooked cops, pedophile Santas, and other scumbags with his trusty pump-action shotgun.
- DirectorGilles CarleStarsMicheline LanctôtDonald PilonReynald BouchardA woman imbued with naturalistic and libertarian theories leaves her city home to live in the countryside with her young son. There she meets a litigious farmer who fights against the banks and the government, in which she will be somehow involved. Meanwhile, practising her theories, she makes some old men very happy and, by chance even passes as a saint!
- DirectorAnne WheelerStarsKenneth WelshTantoo CardinalSusan WooldridgeLily and her three youngest children join her husband David Sutton, a doctor in an isolated northern Alberta town. Their eleven-year-old son arrives later from boarding school. David conceals a dark secret which caused the family to leave England without telling anybody. They befriend a neighbor Rosanne, who throws out her boyfriend after he beats her up in a bar. Lily, who is very English and out of place in the town, hires the half-Native Rosanne as a housekeeper, and eventually the two women become good friends, until the secret emerges again.
- DirectorSandy WilsonStarsMargaret LangrickJohn WildmanRichard DonatAdding an intriguing Canadian twist to a universally appealing story of teenage trials, My American Cousin begins as bored 12-year-old Sandy (Margaret Langrick) is preparing for another long summer of cherry picking when suddenly her older, James Dean-cool cousin Butch (John Wildman) arrives unexpectedly from California in a red Cadillac convertible. Sandy and her pre-teen friends fall madly for Butch's rock 'n' roll swagger, but he's more interested in making time with the local girls and getting in fistfights than in playing chauffeur to Sandy. Both have a lot to learn about life and each other, but united under the strict parental rule of Sandy's dad, they vow to make this summer a truly unforgettable experience. Capturing the restlessness of youth with a fresh and funny perspective, Wilson's genuinely charming period piece is forever reaching for lost innocence as it playfully contrasts Canadian and American attitudes. My American Cousin has remained a consistent favourite for Canadians and non-Canadians.
- DirectorSarah PolleyStarsMichelle WilliamsSeth RogenSarah SilvermanA happily married woman falls for the artist who lives across the street.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsElias KoteasArsinée KhanjianMaury ChaykinA family with the lack of sincerity faces a crisis.
- DirectorThom FitzgeraldStarsChris LeavinsKerry FoxIan ParsonsWilliam, a once obese and depressed adolescent, is able to move past his teenage years when he moves to the city and comes out as being gay. When he returns home though, he can't cope with his memories.
- DirectorDavid RimmerAn experimental film of footage, negatives, flashing lights, and color of a woman shaking out cellophane.
- DirectorWilliam FruetStarsDonald PleasenceCarol KaneDoris PetrieA father will do anything to protect his family's reputation when his unmarried teenage daughter becomes pregnant because she was raped by her brother's friend.
- DirectorSacha GervasiStarsRobb ReinerSteve 'Lips' KudlowTiziana ArrigoniSince 1978, Anvil has become one of heavy metal's most influential yet commercially unsuccessful acts. In 2006, after a fledging European tour Anvil sets out to record their thirteenth album and continue to follow their dreams.
- DirectorDavid HartfordStarsNell ShipmanCharles ArlingWheeler OakmanA woman finds herself all alone in a remote harbor with the man responsible for the murder of her father. With seemingly nobody around to protect her, she has to be resourceful.
- DirectorDonald ShebibStarsMichael ParksBonnie BedeliaChuck ShamataAn ex-con, his daughter and her two friends plan the elaborate heist of a nickel mine in Northern Ontario.
- DirectorPhilippe FalardeauStarsAntoine L'ÉcuyerGabriel MailléCatherine FaucherDuring the summer of 1968, Leon, a 10-year-old boy, navigates the hardships of young love, his lunatic mother's whims, and his urges to vandalize the house of his neighbors.
- DirectorDavid RimmerTime-lapsed photography from a fixed camera on the Canadian rail yards that captures trains, ships, and the changing landscape.
- DirectorDenis CôtéStarsAnne CarrierJean-Paul ColmorÉtienne GrutmanAn introverted man runs a "car cemetery" where people come to find parts for old vehicles.